The ruling DMK swept the Tamil Nadu urban local body polls, with the results being declared on Tuesday, February 22. The party also breached the western belt, an AIADMK stronghold, after it won the Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruppur municipal corporations and recorded a mega victory in the seven Coimbatore municipalities.
As per official data, DMK won 67.67% seats for ward councillors in 21 corporations, securing 929 out of 1,374 posts. The DMK also won 2,360 out of 3,843 wards from 138 municipalities (61.41%); and 4,388 (57.58%) out of 7,621 seats in 490 town panchayats.
The ruling party celebrated its big win in Coimbatore after it bagged 68 out of the 100 seats in the Corporation. The AIADMK came a distant second after winning just three wards. The BJP won zero wards. The DMK also raced ahead in the municipalities in Coimbatore, winning 159 out of 198 wards, against 22 wards won by the AIADMK. In the town panchayats in Coimbatore district the party won 386 out of 513 wards, against AIADMK’s 71.
Meanwhile, in Coimbatore the declaration certificates provided to the winning candidates are given with the disclaimer that ‘the declaration of result is subject to the outcome’ of the court order. The Madras High Court, on Monday, February 21, ordered that the result of the Coimbatore Corporation election shall be subject to further orders by the court while hearing a writ petition filed by the Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam. It was alleged that there was distribution of cash to voters by all parties. They also sought to nullify the election and conduct an inquiry in the issue.
In Salem, the DMK swept the corporation seats, winning 47 out of 60 wards. The party also won 96 out of 165 wards in the municipalities and 278 out of 474 town panchayat wards.
In Tiruppur, the DMK won 24 out of 60 wards in the Municipal corporation while AIADMK won 19 wards. The ruling party won 92 out of 147 seats in the municipalities in the district and 129 out of 233 seats in the town panchayats.
In Tirunelveli Corporation, the DMK had a resounding victory after bagging 44 out of the 55 wards. The ruling party is securing the mayoral post in the Tirunelveli corporation after 11 years. The party and its allies — Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, the MDMK and the CPI(M) - together have won 50 of the 55 seats.
Following the elections, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that the DMK had been successful in ‘capturing the Kongu belt’, which is considered an AIADMK fortress. Thanking the people for the victory, Stalin added that “the results are a recognition of the Dravidian model of governance, and to the 9-month DMK rule in Tamil Nadu.”
CM Stalin also added that the win was possible because of the alliance that the DMK has stitched together, and thanked the alliance party leaders for campaigning ahead of the polls.
செய்தியாளர் சந்திப்பு (22/02/2022): https://t.co/VUORcOsXs6
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) February 22, 2022
In a jolt to the AIADMK, the ruling party also bagged the Edappadi municipality in Salem, which is the hometown of former Chief Minister and present opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswamy. Edappadi is also his Assembly constituency.
In the Chennai Corporation, the DMK won 153 out of 200 wards, while the AIADMK won 15. Together, the DMK and allies have won 164 seats in the Chennai Corporation.